Just A Memory
by terreisa
Summary: There's a land where the Villains are heroes and the Heroes have lost their happy endings. Only one person knows the truth but Emma's been locked in a tower, helpless to change everything back to the way it was. When Henry rescues her she realizes the true price of what has been done. A missing Operation Mongoose moment featuring Emma, Henry, and Deckhand Hook.


**The finale left me with a lot of feels so obviously I turned to writing them out. This originally started as a small idea wondering where Emma got her lovely pirate-y outfit. I guess I had a little bit more than just that rolling around in my brain. Please to enjoy.**

 **Kitsis and Horowitz own the characters, I just let them out to play.**

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Emma had known that Henry would find her. There was never a moment of doubt in the time she had been locked up in the tower with only Lily for company. The hardest part had been holding onto the truth in her mind. It had been eerily like the war between the memories of her life in Storybrooke and the false ones Regina had given her to escape Pan's curse. Only, this time, it was infinitely worse.

She had woken up already chained in the tower, stuffed into a ridiculous dress, and without a clue as to what had happened to everyone. Lily had brought her food not much later and there had been no spark of recognition in her eyes. Emma had barraged her with questions hoping that something, anything, would give her any kind of clue or hint at answers. She could have been interrogating a wall for all the information she got. Even her magic was gone, something she had once foolishly wished for.

That first night she thought back to a conversation she'd had with Jefferson, the Mad Hatter. He had told her the anguish of having two conflicting realities battling in his head and she had brushed him off, assuming he was crazy. She now knew how he felt. Yes, she knew the truth but she also knew the lies.

She remembered going from village to village trying to find a face she recognized while trying to convince the villagers she was the Savior. She remembered running to Gold's shop with Regina and the Apprentice to stop the Author. She remembered being captured by her mother, the Evil Queen, just as clearly as she remembered telling her parents to watch out for Henry. Worst of all she felt that she had already spent years with chains around her wrists in a neglected tower while at the same time she felt that she had only been there for hours.

For all of that, however, Emma refused to let her mind wander to what fate Gold had set for Killian. As time slipped by she only let herself remember the times he made her smile, how his scent enveloped her when he tugged her into his arms, the feel of his lips curling into a smile under hers. Her faith in Henry finding her and in Killian's ability to survive were the only things that had kept her sane.

Finally, the door had opened and she had seen tennis shoes and dirty jeans and Henry, her son, the boy who had found her once and it seemed would always find her. She'd had a second of disbelief, that it was a figment of her imagination, but the smell of pine that accompanied him and the cautious hesitence in his eyes were details her mind couldn't fake. Suddenly the lies had nothing to hold onto and they became nothing more than a story, one that needed to be undone.

What she wasn't prepared for was running, literally, into Killian the way that she did. She hadn't given thought to how Henry had gotten to her forsaken island. Henry was there and he had freed her but she knew Lily wouldn't be out for long and they had to be far away when she came to. It had felt so good to be moving but she couldn't help checking over her shoulder for Lily and had barreled right into Killian's chest.

If seeing Henry had turned the lies into stories then seeing Killian turned them into stone. He was alive and whole but it wasn't really him, she could tell immediately. However, she couldn't help but stare at him, to try and fill in the details her memory had lost over the years. This Killian seemed younger somehow, even though his face was the same. His dark hair was in disarray, flopping gently across his forehead and her fingers itched to push it back. His eyes were still a clear crystalline blue, bewildered, but missing the shadow that centuries of living had cast. What she noticed most was the utter lack of recognition upon seeing her.

Emma felt disappointment flood through her as Killian shook his head, blinking, and offered his hand in introduction. Of course he wouldn't know who she was, let alone remember her, but she had hoped that something would spark his memory. Pushing down her emotions she got them moving again, only pausing once to take in the sight of the Jolly Roger anchored offshore. She didn't know the entirety of how Gold had changed Killian's story but she was glad that he still had the Jolly.

As they began sailing Emma immediately recognized the difference in the man at the helm. He was unsure of himself, bumbling, stuttering, and hesitant. The epitome of a coward. Yet, when Lily had erupted from the tower and Emma told Killian to load the cannon as he cowered against the wheel she had trusted that he would do it without hesitation. Gold had stripped him of his surety and bravado but not the courage and the good man that lay underneath. They worked together as they had countless times before and only severe restraint kept her from launching herself into his arms after Lily fell into the water.

With Lily distracted and the oddly grassy taste of goat's milk coating her tongue she agreed to explain things to Killian, wondering how much he would actually believe. In an effort to organize her thoughts and get some perspective on how to be around Killian without it really being him she excused herself. His eyebrows had shot up in alarm, as though he had offended her and she quickly assured him she just wanted to check on Henry and hopefully find something to wear that didn't involve tulle or corsets.

"Don't worry Mom, he's not the only one."

Henry's voice startled her. She had been staring down at the trunks she had found in the hold, not really seeing their contents.

"I know. I mean, not really, since I've been in that tower the whole time but I figured it out when Lily treated me like nothing more than a prisoner. No trips down memory lane there," she said as she finally bent down to open one of the more promising looking trunks.

Emma heard his huff of laughter before he walked over and sat down on the lip of the trunk she was digging through. His knobby knee nudged her arm and she looked up at him. Gone was the little boy who had appeared on her doorstep asking her to believe. She hadn't really noticed how much he had grown until their forced separation. Swallowing her tears she dug deeper into the folds of fabric.

"Okay kid, bring me up to speed."

"Well, do you want to hear about me stealing Mom's car and getting to New York to find Isaac or would you rather hear about using the key to get to the Enchanted Forest?" Henry asked grinning.

"Stole a car?" Emma asked edgily, shoving a vest into his arms.

"I'd like to think of it as borrowing," he dismissed with a wave of his hand. "It got me here, just like we technically stole the Jolly Roger from Blackbeard to get to you."

"Blackbeard? You mean this isn't even Hook's ship anymore?" She let her disbelief cover the fact that she was truly impressed by Henry's tenacity.

"It is now," he said rolling his eyes. "Do you want to hear what's happened or not?"

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I'm going to forget that you stole a car," she muttered as she dove back into the trunk.

As Henry wove his tale Emma pieced together an outfit. She wasn't surprised Gold had turned himself into a knight or that Regina and Mary Margaret had flipped roles as bandit and Evil Queen. What had made her stop for a moment to process was that, for Henry, only two days had passed. Two days where he was alone, fighting to get to them and save them all. It still felt like years had passed since she had seen him last and she had to clench her hands into fists and dig her nails into her palm to keep from losing herself in the false memories.

"So, then I figured if anyone could get me into an impenetrable fortress it would be Captain Hook," Henry finished smugly.

"But he's not a captain here," Emma whispered as she forced her hands to relax.

"No… just a deckhand who still helped me get into an impenetrable fortress to save you," Henry quipped.

She looked to see him staring at her with an eyebrow raised and a smirk on his lips. He definitely didn't get that from her and she smiled, reminded of who always looked at her like that.

"Gimme that," she grumbled, grabbing the clothes she had piled into his arms. "Go up and help Hook while I get changed."

Henry shot her a grin as he stood up. Before he left he wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug. Her arms were trapped between them but before she could wrestle them free he was bounding up the stairs laughing.

Getting into the outfit she put together was infinitely easier than the last time she was in the Enchanted Forest. She may have never met Blackbeard but he had an excellent eye for fashion. Wondering if it was a pirate thing she cinched a belt around her waist and tucked a pair of soft leather gloves in it at the small of her back. She smiled to herself, knowing that her preferred wardrobe choice was better suited for life on the high seas than for ruling a kingdom. It was that thought that compelled her to finally join the boys above deck.

When she stepped out into the breeze her hair immediately began whipping around her face. Huffing impatiently she began to pull it back into a ponytail only to realize that while her outfit was comfortable it didn't come equipped with pockets filled with hair ties.

"Erm, here."

A leather thong appeared at her elbow, dangling from between Killian's fingers. She turned to him, hands still tangled in her hair, with a look of confusion on her face. He blushed and she could tell he wanted to scratch behind his ear but he just raised his hand towards her, indicating she should take the scrap of leather.

"Thanks, doesn't seem like you'd need something like this," she said as she pulled the soft leather from his hand.

To her amazement his blush deepened and his hand immediately went to the back of his neck. Watching him carefully she deliberately let her hair fall loose, shaking her head slightly so it fell in gentle blonde waves around her shoulders. She was rewarded with the slightly glazed look he had given her when she first ran into him. Fighting a smirk she slowly gathered her hair back into a ponytail and wrapped the leather tightly at its base. His eyes followed her movements almost as if she had bewitched him and he was helpless to fight it.

"No, no. But you never know when you might need it," Killian murmured, eyes still roaming across her face.

"I guess not," she agreed. Aware of his scrutiny she turned to scan the horizon. "How long until we make port?"

"I would wager an hour or so. We can't exactly dock the Jolly Roger where we set sail from, Blackbeard will be out for revenge. I wager it's enough time to tell me at least part of your tale," he said gently.

"Where to start?" She mused as she walked over to the railing.

Leaning on the worn wood she kept her eyes on the open sea but saw him join her out of the corner of her eye. Killian kept a respectable distance between them, fiddling with his hook. She sucked in an unsteady breath, aching to step closer to him and lose herself in his embrace.

"I believe the beginning is always a good place," he suggested helpfully, breaking through her melancholy thoughts.

"Not this time," she said making a decision. "This life that you're living, that everyone here is living, is a lie."

Emma turned to watch his reaction. His jaw dropped slightly in shock but his eyes were alight with curiosity. Taking it as an encouraging sign she continued on.

"None of this is real, it's all an alternate reality created by the Dark One so he could get his happy ending."

"Dark One? There is no Dark One, just the Evil Queen and the Light One," Killian explained.

"The Light One? Seriously?" Emma scoffed. "Whatever, he's not what we need to worry about right now. We do need to deal with the fact that he made someone take away everyone's happy endings and give them to the villains. Our only hope to get back to the real world is to help Regina get hers."

"And if we get Regina her happy ending all will be set to rights?"

"Yes," she answered. It was a moment before she realized what he asked. "Wait, you believe me?"

"I just helped free you from a treacherous island guarded by a dragon after committing mutiny based solely on the word of your boy. You also trusted me with your life despite my never having met you before," he hesitated, blushing slightly, before continuing. "Both of you have given me compelling reasons to believe that what you say is true."

"You're willing to risk everything for the chance that we're right? Why?" She asked genuinely puzzled.

"My life is nothing special, I'm a deckhand for an arrogant, villainous pirate with nothing to my name beside the implement I'm known by," he said ruefully raising his hook. "Along comes a remarkable young lad that outsmarts said pirate to regain what he calls 'my ship' and knows the tricks of sailing that I use myself. That alone was enough to convince me that perhaps I had been meant for a different life."

"What else convinced you?" she asked taking in the expression of awe on his face.

He peered down at her, regarding her carefully. Satisfied with whatever he saw in her eyes he answered her.

"When you ran into me as you escaped the tower you looked at me as though you knew me. Not just from what Henry may have told you, but as though you truly knew me. I don't know you but you somehow know me and that's enough to go on for now."

Before she could formulate an answer Killian had pushed away from the railing and was walking toward Henry who was at the helm. Even with his mind wiped of the man he was he still had a knack for setting her off kilter.

"Mom, Hook says we should be there in about ten minutes!" Henry yelled at her happily gripping the wheel.

"Good, we'll have just enough time to grab something to eat and engage in a little swordplay," she said boldly, looking directly at Killian.

Emma was rewarded with a flush that crept up his neck and turned the tips of his ears a flaming red. He may not remember who he was but she surely did and she wasn't about to waste another opportunity of getting a little payback for all the times he'd set her own heart beating a little faster. She just hoped he would remember it this time around.


End file.
